Settling In
by Sensaiman
Summary: She never dreamed what moving into the Loft would bring with it.


Settling In

BY

Sensaiman

A Castle Fanfiction

_**Summary: She never dreamed what moving into the Loft would bring with it.**_

_**Disclaimer: Nope I don't, Andrew Marlowe does and it's probably for the best.**_

The 6th [_or was it 10__th_] time, Kate Beckett [_Detective_] reached across the bed and whispered Rick, only to be met with an empty mattress and silence, she decided maybe she should just give in and get up. This was all her fault really. When they had returned from the Hamptons this afternoon, all three Castles had asked [_no they had begged her_] to stay, but no she was a big girl and she felt she should go home. In her heart she knew she really had wanted to stay with them. The beach house had become home very quickly after Alexis and Martha had arrived. The last two months had been wonderful. Kate had known after that first magical night she and Rick had shared, that the romance would be great, what she hadn't realized was that the family feelings would be equally great. Ever since her mother's murder, Kate had been virtually without a family, sure she had her Dad, but their relationship had become strained due to his drinking and her emotional withdrawal. They had fixed it up the last few years, but they had never recovered the closeness they had had when her mother was alive.

The Castles however had drawn her into their circle almost without her realizing it. It wasn't just Rick [_as sweet and loving as he was_], but Alexis and Martha had embraced as much as Rick. He was her lover, friend, partner, but Alexis quickly became the younger sister [_daughter?_] she had never had, and Martha became almost like a second mother.

So, as she sat in her living room, drinking her second cup of coffee, she tried to find a way that didn't sound pitiful or downright needy to ask Richard Castle if she could move in with him. She should have known she had nothing to worry about.

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When she arrived at the precinct the next morning, she was surprised to see a coffee and a bear claw sitting on her desk, but more surprising was the sight of Rick sitting in his chair waiting for her. Traditionally she arrived a good hour before he did, and the sight of him sitting there caused her heart to do a flip. Was this the break up she was [_secretly_] fearing?

"Hey, Castle", she said hesitantly.

"Oh, God, Kate, thank heavens you're here"/

"Wait a minute". Kate thought, "This isn't the usual break up greeting".

'What's wrong, Rick"?

"I've been going crazy. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I missed you so much last night. Kate, you have to move in with us. I can't be without you. Please", it was the whine of a 9 year old asking for a puppy and it was irresistible [_not that she had any intention of resisting_].

"Gee, I don't know Rick, this is so sudden."

"Sudden, we've been living together for two months at the beach house. This will be the same, just without the sand. Please Kate".

"What about Alexis and Martha, maybe they're not ready for us to be together permanently". [_She had every intention of accepting, but she didn't want to sound too eager_]

"Oh yeah, listen to this", and with that he pulled out his iPad, loaded the Soundnote app. and pressed play.

"Kate", it was Alexis's voice, "You need to come live with us. I need someone to support me when Dad is unreasonable, besides I love you, and I want you with us. Please come home, Kate"

"Kate, Darling, Martha here. We want you and we need you. The house is empty without the third Castle woman. Please say you'll come".

'Well, if you guys really insist, how can I refuse", Kate said smiling.

The next moment she was being hugged and lifted off her feet.

"Hey, guys, anything you want to share with the class", Esposito asked.

"Uh", Rick muttered putting his girlfriend down.

"You know for a best selling author, you're not that eloquent", Ryan joked.

"Hey, babe", Kate said to Rick, "I'll handle this. For your information, you two, Rick and I are now a couple, and if either of you make a joke or give my boyfriend a hard time, you'll find yourselves cleaning out the evidence lockers in the cellars get it"

'Hey, Beckett, that's great, I mean the boyfriend part, not the lockers", Ryan said.

"Yeah", said Esposito, "All we want to know is what took you two so long?"

"You know what they say", Castle answered, "The best things are worth waiting for", he gently took Beckett's hand in his, "and this is the "best" best thing of all".

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It didn't take Kate long to realize that having a boyfriend who had more money than anyone could possibly know what to do with, had definite advantages. Rick was able to get the best moving company in New York to pack up and move her stuff from the apartment to the loft. What could easily have taken two or three weeks was done in less than five days. So there they were on her first Friday night at the Castle loft, settled in and happy. She and Rick were sitting on the couch watching a television show, Alexis and Martha were sitting at the kitchen counter planning tomorrow's outing. It was a Castle Woman tradition to spend Saturday shopping and then going out to lunch. Kate was not really paying attention to their conversation until, that is, Martha asked her the question.

"Kate, dear, do think Tavern on the Green or Mesa Grill?"

Kate had looked at her puzzled, "What"?

"For lunch tomorrow, should we go to Tavern on the Green or Mesa Grill"?

"Uh. Mesa Grill, I guess"

"Thank you, Darling", Martha said reaching for the phone. "Hello, Mesa Grill, This is Martha Rodgers, oh Rodney, how are you. Yes we would like our regular table. No there will be three tomorrow. Yes, well thank you, dear. See you tomorrow".

As Kate sat on the couch, it hit her, she was the third. Alexis and Martha were inviting, [_no they were expecting_] her to go with them.

The next day was wonderful. The three of them had hit several stores, and then had taken a cab to the restaurant for lunch. Once back in the loft Kate turned to the two women.

"Martha, Alexis, today was great. Thank you for inviting me"

"Don't be silly, dear. You are one of us now and this is what we do".

"Yeah, Kate", Alexis said, "you're part of the family, and this is a family tradition".

And so it started, the settling of Kate Beckett into to the Castle lifestyle. She quickly learned that this was a family with a lot of traditions. For example on Halloween, the Castle's found a zillion uses for red food color. Or on Thanksgiving, when she learned how great a cook Rick truly was, and how welcoming the family could be. It had been Alexis who had insisted that she invite her Dad. Jim Beckett had been adopted into the clan almost as soon as he had walked through the door. It had taken Alexis only a few hours before she had started calling him Grampa Jim. At first Kate had worried that he might not like this, but she should've realized that it would be okay. The first time Alexis said it, he had paused, for a moment, turned, smiled, pulled her into his arms and said, Yes, Baby Girl?". And from then on it was Grampa Jim and his Baby Girl.

But of all the family traditions the one that Kate liked the most _[except for the intimate ones she and Rick shared in the privacy of their bedroom_] was the weekly "Girls Day" out. Unfortunately , due to the nature of her work [_crime does not take weekends off_] she was not able to join Alexis and Martha as often as she liked. It was on one of these days out when Kate learned the extent into which she had become a member of the Castle family. The three of them had just left Bloomingdales and were headed up the street towards a taxi stand , when Alexis walked up next to her, slipped her arm through Kate's and said, "Oh, Mo, uh Kate I love these Saturdays, I mean the ones when you are with us. I never realized how much I missed a mo… er you".

"I know, sweetie", Kate replied, "I hate the Saturdays your Dad and I have to work".

"Kate"

"Yes, Lex"

"Can I ask you something?

"Of course, honey anything".

"Would mind terribly if instead of Kate, I started calling you , Mom?", asked the redhead looking up at her hopefully.

Kate felt a giant flip in her heart. She stopped and looked at the beautiful red haired teenager looking up at her. She didn't say anything for a moment, she just assessed her feelings. This young girl had truly become like a daughter to her. There was a huge part of her that wanted to shout "yes, honey of course". But still she hesitated.

"Uh I'm sorry, Kate", Alexis said pulling her arm from Kate's. "I didn't mean to make you fell uncomfortable"

Kate had reached and pulled the young girl's arm back through hers. She led her over to a bench and sat her down.

Taking Alexis's hand in hers she said, "Its not that, sweetie. Over the last three years I have come to love you like a daughter. Don't ever doubt that. Its just I don't want to hurt Meredith. She's you mother and I don't want to come between you".

"Kate, in order to come between people they have to be together, Mother and I have never been more than acquaintances, She only sees me once or twice a year. She's never been there for me. In the last three years, Kate, you have shown me more motherly love and affection than she has for my whole life. That's why I want to call you, Mom. Because that's how I feel about you"

Kate thought for a moment, she understood how the teen felt. She had been without a mother almost as long as Alexis, she knew what it felt like not to be able to run into a room and call "Mom" and have someone one answer. Suddenly an idea hit her.

"Lexy, how about this, when Meredith comes to town you call her Mom and call me Kate, but the rest of the time you can call me Mom if you want to."

"Oh thanks Kate, I mean Mom", the teenager said happily.

Having straightened that out there was one other thing Kate needed to understand. In the six months she had been living in the loft, Martha had never referred to Kate as Rick's girlfriend. Whenever she introduced the Detective it was always:

"Mandy, [_or whoever_] this is Richard's partner, Kate."

Kate had wondered about this, and finally, on the same night as she and Alexis reached their understanding, Kate decided to broach the subject.

Rick was in his study writing, and Alexis had gone to a show with Ashley, so Kate and Martha had the living room to themselves.

"Martha, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, dear of course"

"I've notice that whenever you introduce me to people, you always call me Rick's partner instead of his girlfriend. I just wondered why."

"Kate, darling, sit here next to me", Rick's mother said, "I want you to understand something. You have become so much more that just a girlfriend in my sight. None of the other women Richard has been involved with have ever wanted to be a part of us. They have always been interested in him only. Even Meredith and Gina only wanted Rick. They always closed Alexis and I out. But not you, even before you and Richard came to your senses and realized the truth about your feelings for one another, you had embraced and accepted Alexis and I. Remember, dear, when Chet died and left me his money? You were the one who helped me realize that I should use it in a way that would honor his memory. As far as Alexis is concerned, you agreed to become her guardian a year before you and Richard got together. When I call you his partner I mean that you are his partner in all things not just at work. You are his lover, his muse, his best friend, you are a mother to Alexis and a daughter to me. That's why I will call you his partner."

"Oh, Martha", Kate said embracing the older woman, "thank you so much".

"That is until I can call you what I really want to", Martha whispered.

"What is that"?

"My daughter-in law", was the answer.

"Someday, Martha", Kate said, "Someday, soon".

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_I know I'm an old softy, Please review and thanks for all the encouragement you guys have given me with my other stories. God Bless._


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